Debutant Parkinson shines to help Lancashire rip through Warwickshire

19-year-old debutant Matthew Parkinson took two wickets in his first five overs on debut for Lancashire to inspire a strong bowling performance for the Red Rose against Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

The leg-spinner took 2-39 from 18 overs, helping Lancashire to reduce the visitors to 94/6, as both Kyle Jarvis (2-48) and Tom Smith (2-18) took two wickets in two balls to rip through Warwickshire's experienced and dangerous top order.

Lancashire were complete control of the match after captain Steven Croft (100) completed his 11th first-class century to help the hosts to reach 308 in their first innings, sharing a partnership worth 143 runs with Karl Brown (61). However, an unbroken partnership between Tim Ambrose (48*) and Keith Barker (57*) worth 108 runs left the game finely balanced at stumps, as Warwickshire recovered from losing both captain Ian Bell and Rikki Clarke for golden ducks.

Although his debut will largely be remembered for his efforts with the ball, young Parkinson had a memorable introduction to county cricket, with his nine runs proving crucial in Lancashire's effort to pursue a third batting point. Parkinson would later claim two big wickets, including former England batsman Jonathan Trott (3) and the ever-dependable opener, Varun Chopra (59).

His first over for Lancashire was also put on hold when it was only three balls old, as persistent and unsettling noises from the PA system at the ground forced the umpires to call an early tea interval, deciding that the noise would have been too distracting for the batting side.

Croft and Brown resumed the second day of this Specsavers County Championship match approaching respective milestones after adding 105 runs for the fifth-wicket to help Lancashire close on 196/4. Lancashire secured their first batting point in the fourth over of the day, before Brown reached back-to-back fifties in four-day cricket for the Red Rose in 123 balls.

It would have been fitting for Brown to have seen Croft to his century, given the that the pair had spent so long together at the crease, but Brown felt the wrath of the new ball, as Barker (2-40) trapped him lbw for 61, with the score at 234/5. This breakthrough came with to the sixth delivery of the new ball, but Croft was able to persevere for long enough to reach his first Championship century of the season in 199 deliveries, with nine fours and one six.

However, the captain survived just two more balls before he was the latest victim to the new ball, edging Clarke down the leg-side to Ambrose, the second wicket to fall in the space of 15 balls. Arron Lilley made a brief stay at the crease, adding 12 runs to the total before he was unfortunate to be dismissed by a terrific reaction catch from Boyd Rankin (2-67), who plucked Lilley's drive to leave Lancashire on 253/7.

As has often been the case in the Championship this season, Livingstone did not look out of place whatsoever at number seven and his unbeaten 34 from 57 balls proved vital in helping the Red Rose to reach their third batting point. Neil Wagner (5) followed in the same manner as Croft, strangled down the leg-side, this time off Oliver Hannon-Dalby (1-46), who struck with his sixth ball of the day.

Lancashire reached lunch on 278/8, after Warwickshire had taken four wickets for 43 runs with the new ball, but Livingstone and the tail-enders were able to see the home side beyond 300. Jarvis (8) became Rankin's latest victim when he was trapped lbw at 289/9, with the possibility of Lancashire having to settle for only two batting points.

Parkinson then added 9 to help push Lancashire to 308, before he was bowled by Jeetan Patel (3-87), leaving Livingstone stranded on 34 not out to give his already healthy average an additional boost. Warwickshire made a solid start through Chopra and Andrew Umeed (18), as the opening partnership added its first 50 runs in 77 balls, with both Wagner and Jarvis enduring frustrating but probing spells.

Finally, Jarvis found the breakthrough in his seventh over, forcing Umeed to edge to Smith at second slip at 54/1. The Zimbabwean paceman then had the prized wicket in his pouch, as the Bell's edge fell into the hands of Livingstone at first slip, with Jarvis taking two wickets in as many deliveries to restore Lancashire's faith in a seemingly slow and flat pitch.

Having removed the Warwickshire captain for a golden duck, Lancashire went in search of removing another of England's former batsmen in Trott, hoping that Parkinson would provide the answer. However, with Parkinson only three balls into his opening spell, the tannoy system at the ground continued to make an unsettling and loud noise, which forced the umpires to take the players off the field for an early tea.

Chopra reached a competent half-century in the early stages of the evening session in 62 balls with eight boundaries, but he was to be one of two quick wickets to fall to the wristy leg-spin of Parkinson. The England Under-19 spinner first had Trott - a handsome first wicket - caught by Livingstone at slip for 3, with only his ninth ball, before Chopra gloved an attempted sweep, which looped into the gloves of Croft.

90/4 became 94/6 in next to no time when Smith repeated Jarvis' feat before tea, as the former Lancashire captain struck twice in two balls to remove Sam Hain (8) and Clarke (0). Hain edged behind to Croft to give Smith his first Championship wicket for Lancashire at Old Trafford since his return from injury and he struck again the next ball when he trapped Clarke lbw for a golden duck.

Given the dominant position Lancashire found themselves in in the early stages of the evening session, the home side will no doubt be disappointed that Barker and Ambrose were able to add an unbroken partnership worth 108 runs to help Warwickshire recover. Not for the first time this season, Barker - born in Lancashire - rescued Warwickshire from a capitulation, ably supported by the experienced and level-headed approach from Ambrose.

Parkinson finished his first 14-over spell with figures of 2-29, but Barker in particular started to show signs of launching a resistance, lofting Lilley for six to help him reach a 72-ball fifty with seven fours. The hundred-partnership came in the penultimate over of the day in 171 balls, as Ambrose and Barker helped the Bears to reach stumps on 202/6, trailing the Red Rose by 106 runs.

Captain Croft leads Lancashire recovery against Warwickshire

Lancashire captain Steven Croft played a vital hand for his side on the opening day of Warwickshire's visit to Emirates Old Trafford in the Specsavers County Championship.

Croft reached stumps on 82 not out, sharing an unbroken partnership worth 105 runs with Karl Brown (41*), helping Lancashire to recover from an early nightmare, when the Red Rose found themselves 6/2 after being put into bat by Warwickshire in testing conditions.

Heavy and persistent rain forced the start of play to be delayed until 2pm, with the only 67 over being possible on Day One, as Lancashire recovered to reach 196/4 after the visitors made early inroads with the ball in overcast conditions.

For the majority of the day, Croft and Brown enjoyed blue sky and sunshine, as they dejected a fierce Warwickshire bowling attack, who came into today high on confidence after beating Lancashire in the NatWest T20 Blast yesterday on Duckworth Lewis by 18 runs.

Lancashire were in a spot of bother when both opening batsmen, Tom Smith and Haseeb Hameed were back in the pavilion inside four overs, but Luke Procter (36) and Croft guided the Red Rose to 82/3, which represented a hard-fought resistance against a bowling attack with international quality from the likes of Jeetan Patel and Boyd Rankin.

Smith (2) fell to the 13th ball of the day, edging Keith Barker (1-22) behind to Tim Ambrose when he shaped for an expansive drive outside the off-stump. Hameed then followed for a 12-ball duck, his first duck for the club, with Rikki Clarke (1-29) trapping the youngster lbw after 3.4 overs to leave Lancashire on 6/2.

Alviro Petersen (25) showed signs of initially leading a resistance, before Patel struck with only his second ball of the day, as the South-African paddled an attempted sweep straight into the hands of Sam Hain at short-leg. This wicket left Lancashire facing another top-order collapse at 46/3 and after the recent run of poor form in the one-day matches, the hosts needed someone to stand up and take responsibility.

Procter played a typically patient knock, entering the tea interval on 33 not out, as he and Croft added 36 runs to enter the break without any further setbacks. However, Kiwi Patel (2-50) continued his knack for striking early in spells, removing Procter with his third ball after tea, as the Lancashire all-rounder wondered out of his crease and was stumped by Ambrose for 36.

Lancashire were once again on the back foot with this early breakthrough in the evening session and it required a captain's innings to rescue them from a potentially disappointing first day. By close, the Lancashire skipper had taken his side within touching distance of their first batting point, leading the recovery with his second half-century of the season in four-day cricket.

He and Brown assembled a fifty-partnership in 120 balls, with Croft's gigantic swept six off Patel taking the pair to this milestone during a sun-bathed evening session. Croft, who has been keeping wicket due to the absence of Alex Davies and Jos Buttler, will no longer be required to do so after the club revealed that they are hoping to sign Tom Moores, son of former coach Peter, as a loan signing.

Croft brought up his half-century in 107 balls, once again sweeping Patel for his sixth boundary, but his six was the shot of the day, given the fact that he had to hit the ball to the longest part of the ground, as the wicker was set heavily towards one side. The hundred-partnership followed in 179 balls, with both Croft and Brown approaching respective milestones, although they will have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if they are able to do so.

Lancashire set to sign son of Peter Moores as wicketkeeping cover

Lancashire are hoping to sign England Under-19 wicketkeeper Tom Moores, son of former coach, Peter Moores, as cover in the absence of Alex Davies and Jos Buttler.

With Davies sidelined by a knee injury and Buttler returning to international duties with England, Lancashire are in need of a long-term replacement behind the stumps. Club captain, Steven Croft, has kept wicket for two County Championship matches, including the current four-day match against Warwickshire at Old Trafford.

It was thought that Davies, who scored 730 runs at an average of 40.55 last season, was on his way towards making a recovery, but the 21-year-old will be out of action for longer than first feared. Buttler, who has made a handful of one-day appearances for Lancashire after returning from IPL duties with Mumbai Indians, has now joined up with England ahead of the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

When Davies was injured for the last two games of the 2015 season, the Red Rose county recruited the services of Durham's Phil Mustard, but Lancashire require a keeper who will be available to play in all formats, whereas Mustard is a regular in Durham's white-ball sides.

Moores, who is on the books at Nottinghamshire, is set to complete a loan move to Old Trafford on Tuesday, is yet to make his first-class debut for Notts or indeed his previous county, Leicestershire. The son of former Lancashire coach, Peter, who guided Lancashire to their first outright Championship title in 77 years in 2011, played for England Under-19's in the recent World Cup and is currently playing for the Lancashire Second XI against Durham and he scored 15, as Lancashire recorded a 64-run victory.

Preview: Lancashire v Warwickshire - Specsavers CC

Lancashire host Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford in the Specsavers County Championship on Monday, as the Red Rose prepare to play their first four-day match in three weeks.

Ashley Giles' side suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the current two-time champions and Roses rivals Yorkshire in their last four-day outing, losing by 175 runs at the start of June at Headingley. Since then, Lancashire have endured a rough spell in limited-overs cricket, with their win against Yorkshire in the NatWest T20 Blast being one of only three victories in the nine one-day fixtures since they last played a Championship match.

Sitting top of Division One after six Championship matches, Lancashire have upset the odds by achieving three wins already this season, two of which have come by an innings against Hampshire and Surrey. The Red Rose county started life back in the top flight with an eight-wicket victory at home to Nottinghamshire, before securing two more wins at Old Trafford prior to this batch of limited-overs cricket.

Both Lancashire and Yorkshire are on 88 points, but the Red Rose are top on virtue of having won more games. The four-day meeting follows a rain-affected T20 victory for Warwickshire, who won by 18 runs on D/L at Edgbaston on Sunday to move into second place in the North Group, while Lancashire - the reigning champions - suffered their fourth defeat in seven games.

This will be the first time that Giles has faced his old county in a four-day match since joining Lancashire in 2014, with a star-studded line-up that includes former England batsmen, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott. Lancashire-born all-rounder Keith Barker returns to Warwickshire's side after suffering from an ankle injury, which kept him out of action in the One-Day Cup.

Having kept wicket against Yorkshire in the last four-day outing, captain Steven Croft will retain the gloves for the second consecutive Championship match, with Alex Davies injured and Jos Buttler unavailable, as he prepares to represent England in the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. 

Lancashire 13-man squad: Steven Croft (c/wk), Karl Brown, Nathan Buck, Jordan Clark, Haseeb Hameed, Kyle Jarvis, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Parkinson, Alviro Petersen, Luke Procter, Tom Smith, Neil Wagner.

Warwickshire 13-man squad: Ian Bell (c), Mark Adair, Tim Ambrose (wk), Keith Barker, Varun Chopra, Rikki Clarke, Sam Hain, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Jeetan Patel, Josh Poysden, Boyd Rankin, Jonathan Trott, Andy Umeed.

Lancashire slip to rain-affected defeat against Bears at Edgbaston

Lancashire Lightning suffered their fourth NatWest T20 Blast defeat of the season after falling to an 18-run defeat on Duckworth Lewis against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.

Chasing 145 after choosing to bowl first, Lancashire slumped to 39/4 before heavy and persistent rain arrived in the Midlands after New Zealand's wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi hit 53 off 35 balls to spearhead the Bears' innings of 144/9.

Nathan Buck claimed superb figures of 4-26 on his Twenty20 debut for Lancashire, helping to reduce the hosts to a score that seemed to be below par with a short boundary on one side. With heavy rain due hit Edgbaston in the early stages of the second innings, Lancashire faltered, losing Martin Guptill and Jordan Clark for six runs apiece in the space of an over inside the powerplay.

Karl Brown top-scored with 10 before he picked out Jeetan Patel on the square-leg boundary off Chris Woakes (1-4) and Lancashire's hopes of a revival were tarnished when Jos Buttler fell for a second-ball duck, caught and bowled by Rikki Clarke (2-25).

When the rain arrived, Lancashire were on 39/4 halfway through the seventh over, meaning that the Bears were comfortably ahead on D/L despite their seemingly modest effort with the bat. The meeting between the last two winners of the T20 competition was billed as one-to-watch when the fixtures were released, but the rain - as it has tended to of late - had the final say after Lancashire's indifferent start with the bat.

Lancashire had early success when Sam Hain was caught behind by Buttler for 2 off Buck in the third over after the opening batsman survived a scare a few balls earlier for the same mode of dismissal. Buck's first wicket in a T20 shirt for Lancashire was by no means his most valuable scalp of the day, as the former Leicestershire seamer had Bears' captain Ian Bell caught by Guptill in the fifth over.

The spinners kept it tight outside of the powerplay, with Stephen Parry (2-27) removing Will Porterfield for 11, as he too was held by Kiwi Guptill, who took a juggling catch in the covers at 47/3. Laurie Evans was starting to look dangerous for the Bears, but a sharp piece of wicketkeeping from Buttler off Parry had Evans stumped for 24.

Ronchi started to shift through the gears, capitalising on a free-hit off Parry, as he hit the left-arm spinner for the first of four sixes through mid-wicket. His second maximum, a swept six off Arron Lilley (1-29) took the Bears to 104/4, but Woakes (13) and Clarke (0) fell in quick succession to leave the hosts on 111/6.

Woakes picked out Luke Procter in the covers to reward Lilley's economical bowling with a solitary wicket, before Edwards returned to have Clarke bowled for a golden duck, his tenth wicket of the tournament. Ronchi continued to be the thorn in Lancashire's search for supremacy, clipping Edwards for six to the short boundary, with his fourth six taking him to a vital 32-ball fifty.

Buck's strong start continued into his death bowling, as he claimed two more wickets in as many balls to finish with figures of 4-26, removing Mark Adair (7) and the dangerman Ronchi, with the latter falling for 53 from 35 deliveries after hitting three fours and four sixes. Edwards then had Jeetan Patel out third ball for no score when Steven Croft held onto his second catch in quick succession after catching Adair off Buck, as the Bears finished on 144/9.

Lancashire only needed to score at a moderate rate to be in with a chance of being ahead of Duckworth Lewis after five overs, the minimum number of overs required for there to be a result, but wickets continued to fall, forcing D/L to spiral out of control. Guptill (6) fell in the second over to Oliver Hannon-Dalby (1-10) when he toed his lofted drive to Bell at mid-off, before Jordan Clark got a leading edge back to Clarke, as he also departed for 6.

By the time five overs had been bowled, Lancashire had staggered to 28/2, putting them nine runs behind on D/L, but further wickets increased the margin of their eventual defeat. Brown tried to relieve the pressure, but Woakes struck with his fourth ball when Brown picked out Patel on the square-leg boundary.

Buttler then fell second ball for no score when Clarke held on to another caught and bowled chance, as Lancashire slipped to 38/4 at the start of the seventh over. This top-order collapse proved fatal for the Lightning, as the rain arrived on schedule and resigned the champions to their fourth defeat in seven matches in the T20 format.

Preview: Birmingham Bears v Lancashire Lightning - NatWest T20 Blast

Lancashire Lightning travel to Edgbaston on Sunday to take on the Birmingham Bears in the NatWest T20 Blast, as they prepare to visit the ground that they lifted the Twenty20 trophy on last summer.

A truncated start to Lancashire's reign as Twenty20 champions has seen high, lows and most recently a washout when they were due to take on Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Old Trafford in a repeat of last year's final. However, their inconsistency has resulted in Ashley Giles' side making a stuttered start at defending their crown.

The abandoned match against Northants left Lancashire floating in mid-table after six matches, having won two games against rivals Yorkshire and Leicestershire in a rain-affected match on home soil. Lancashire have already played five matches at home in the T20 format this season, which means the Lightning will play the first game in a run of six matches away from home in this competition, with only one other Twenty20 match taking place at Old Trafford in the meantime.

Lancashire's last match against the Bears proved to be a vital one in the Red Rose's journey to lifting the trophy in August last season. A superb all-round display from stand-in skipper Steven Croft led his side to a tense victory at Edgbaston by eight runs against a Birmingham side that had beaten Lancashire in the final the previous season.

In that match, Croft scored 64 from 51 balls and took two wickets, including the prized scalp of none other than Brendon McCullum, as well taking a typically outrageous catch at backward point. The two points earned from that memorable night in Birmingham helped Lancashire to progress to the quarter-finals by the narrowest of margins on net run rate, before going on to beat Hampshire and Northants on Finals Day at the same ground.

The Bears prepared for their hosting of Lancashire with a win on the road against Derbyshire Falcons, with Ateeq Javid hitting the last ball for four to earn Birmingham their third win of the campaign by four wickets. Captain Ian Bell led the way with 64 from 51 balls, as the Bears reached their target of 142 from the final ball of their run-chase.

Birmingham squad: TBC

Lancashire 14-man squad: Steven Croft (c), Karl Brown, Nathan Buck, Jos Buttler, Jordan Clark, George Edwards, Martin Guptill, Rob Jones, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Parkinson, Stephen Parry, Luke Procter, Neil Wagner.

Northants match abandoned after heavy rain at Old Trafford

Lancashire Lightning's NatWest T20 Blast match against Northamptonshire Steelbacks was abandoned without a ball being bowled at Emirates Old Trafford.

The game, which was due to start at 6.30pm, was abandoned 20 minutes before the scheduled start time, after a deluge of rain left the outfield covered in water. The washout leaves Lancashire stranded in the middle of the North Group, having played the most games (6) of any side in their group.

Northants remain in a healthy position, having won three of their four matches before today, with Lancashire's next Twenty20 match coming against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston on Sunday. 

Lancashire's last trip to Edgbaston in the shortest format saw the Red Rose lift their first piece of one-day silverware since 1999, when they beat Northants in the final by 13 runs.